Black Again, In the Nightmare
by Florina of Ilia
Summary: Iggy will lose something that will shake him and the flock to the core. Will they be able to regain what was lost? Will they be the same otherwise? First story!
1. What Went Wrong?

**Hi, this is my first story so I hope you'll like it. This will start off like the beginning of the Maximum Ride series and then will change into my fiction. By the way, this is coming from my manga version. Enjoy!**

**Note:** **I do not own Maximum Ride. I will soon! *Cue evil laugh***

Iggy

I smelled something burning in the kitchen as I tried to continue sleeping. I also heard Gasser talking with Max.

Oh God forbid.

Max is trying to make breakfast.

I pulled myself out of my bed as I felt my way downstairs. When I reached the bottom of the stairs, I tripped on something that felt like a table leg and landed face-first onto the floor.

I. Was. Pissed.

"Who moved the table next to the stairs?" I yelled as I picked myself up.

"Sorry Iggy. The staircase just looked so empty." Max replied.

I flopped onto the couch and put my hand behind my head. "Don't forget I'm blind."

I lay there for a bit, listening to Max rummaging through the fridge until Fang touched my arm. I stifled a chuckle as he came closer to her, undetected.

"Huh?" Max said, scared.

And then…

Fwap!

"Gah!" Max cried out as she got smacked onto the floor. "Fang! Will you quit that?" She asked, annoyed.

I couldn't help but chuckle to his response.

"Quit what? Breathing?"

"Make some noise when you move! You startled me!" Max complained, angry.

I couldn't stand waiting anymore. I was hungry. I stood up and walked toward the kitchen.

"I'll make eggs." I wobbled for bit while I tried to get the eggs.

"Huh? Fang? When did you get up?" Gasser asked Fang. Typical.

I grabbed some eggs and put them in the spots between my fingers. I then went and pulled out and started making eggs.

"Fine. I'll go and get Nudge and Angel." Max said as she stormed off.

Later…

I set the plates on the table and slid the eggs, bacon, peas and carrots onto each one. I waited for everyone else to come. Angel, Max and Nudge came and we started eating.

"I want to go pick strawberries today. They're ripe now." Angel said.

I wouldn't be caught dead picking strawberries.

"Okay, Angel. I'll go with you!" Gasser said, standing up.

Then he farted.

Great.

"Oh geez, Gazzy!" Max said.

"Gas…Mask!" I exclaimed dramatically, putting my hands around throat and making choking noises.

"I'm done." Fang said, irritated and he stood up with his plate.

"Sorry!" Gazzy said.

Yeah, he has gas problems all right.

"Yeah, Angel. I think the _fresh air_ would do us all good. I'll go too." Nudge said.

"We'll all go. How's that?" Max asked.

"Yay!" Gasser cheered.

Thanks Max. Thanks.

After washing the dishes I got my walking stick and went out, locking the door behind me.

After a while of walking…

We reached the strawberry fields.

"Woo-Hoo-!" Gasser cheered. He ran ahead with his arms up and a big grin on his face.

Everyone started picking strawberries. I overheard a conversation with Angel and Max.

"If you make cake…I can make strawberry shortcakes." Angel said. There was silence for a bit as the wind blew.

Then a familiar voice broke the silence. Too familiar.

"Yeah, that'll be the day when Max makes a cake. I'll make it, Angel.." The voice...was mine. Of course I knew who it was that was trying to mess with Max.

It was obviously Gasser using his mimicry skills. But Max didn't know.

"Oh, thank you!" Max said sarcastically.

I waved my hands and shook my head side to side to show it wasn't me.

"Okay, I'm not a fabulous cook. But I can still kick your butt and don't you forget it!" Gasser said in my voice.

We heard Gasser trying to stifle chuckles to himself. He couldn't. Max caught him red-handed.

"Was that you?" Max asked Gasser, upset.

"…Kkkh!" He stifled as he covering his mouth.

"How many times have I told you not to play jokes mimicking others?" She exclaimed as she scolded him.

"Ack!" He cried as Max grabbed his cheek. "But it's fun!"

I couldn't help but laugh. So did Angel.

"Ha ha ha ha ha ha!" Angel laughed.

Everyone was happy. Maybe this wasn't such a bad idea after all.

I continued walking around for a bit until I tripped.

Bummer.

My hand brushed on something that felt like strawberries. I couldn't hear the rest of the flock. I wondered if I'm really that far away. It wouldn't be that bad right? I could just listen for them. So...

I started picking the strawberries.

A hand touched my shoulder and I freaked, thinking it was an Eraser.

It was.

I heard growling. Lot's of it.

I curled my hand into a fist, ready to sack the Eraser in the stomach.

I heard a deafining _Bam_.

**So yeah, I'm done my first chapter! Anyways, this is the start of my fiction and you'll see an unsettling scene in the 3rd chapter. It will be…different then what was written. Next chapter will begin my fiction! I will review if I get 1 positive review. The sentence that starts with I is the start of my twisted plot btw.**

**PLZ review and tell me what you think! **


	2. Boom, Crash, and Despair

So, I'm actually back! (Yay!) I finally had time to upload this, but don't worry; I'll still finish my (Not actually mine, but...) other stories'(Regretful Life) chapter! By the way...

I'm That Girl-The Writing Nerd: Nope. I'm not James Patterson. I can't even BE him, since I'm female! Sorry.

Disclaimer: I don't own Maximum Ride. Only this story.

Now that I'm back, I think it's time to check back with Iggy and the Flock!

* * *

Iggy

Even though I was blind bird kid, I knew where that bullet was coming from, thanks to my super-hyperactive ears. I immediately gutted the Eraser behind me and flew up in the air. In the air, I flew around some more, dodging more bullets aimed at my way. I eventually landed, needing a quick break.

"Tired already, little pig?" Ari. Of course, he had to be here. But why?

However, I knew I could never be so lucky again to dodge those bullets.

Like now.

A bullet whizzed right by the hair near my left ear. Time to fly off before I get myself killed. I was about to take off when there was an explosion, not too far from me. I stopped hesitating and flew into the air.

More explosions followed, but I managed to hear some snitches of words comprising of: 'Mission Failed.', 'You blew a chopper's fuel tank, Ari!'(A.N: I don't know, it COULD happen, right?) 'The piglet got lucky.'-That was definitely Ari- and 'Get back to the other choppers!'

1)And now, a series of events happened, in the order of my thought process:

2)The explosions slowly came to a stop.

3)Max and the others MUST'VE seen this.

4)The choppers had taken off.

5)And the last one, which I think, sucked the most.

I'm guessing the fuel tank was probably still upset, as it HAD to explode when I was flying directly over to get back to the flock and had sent me from flying into the air to hitting my head on something- most likely the unforgiving gravel- to me slowly walking away from the chopper, I think. Thank God I was away from that dreaded chopper. I couldn't even hear it anymore.

However, that explosion must've been more powerful than I thought, as my legs gave way and I collapsed on the rough ground, my head throbbing along with the beating of my heart...

Max

I knew right then that Iggy was a part of this.

It was pretty easy. Fire usually equals Iggy. And there was smoke a little but away from here.

"Gonna tell him off?" Fang asked, a small smile on his face. Sometimes he was so hard to figure out. Good thing this wasn't one of those times.

I nodded. "You can come if you like." I told him.

He nodded, and we spread my wings and flew into the air. I was determined to tell him that even though he was blind, that DID not mean he could test bombs anywhere at free will. When I flew over, the sight I saw below scared me.

Iggy was sprawled on the ground, burn marks all over him and most likely unconscious.

"Fang! We have to grab him!" I called out, before starting to descend to the ground.

The smoke was horrible. Through the corner of my eye, I saw the remains of what could've been...a chopper? Were the Erasers here? If they were, then...

Well, let's try to not think about that.

We managed to grab a hold of Iggy –he was surprisingly lighter than I thought- and flew away from the explosion sight to where the rest of the Flock were and lay him down on the grass. When they saw the state Iggy was in, they were horrified.

We assessed his wounds; Burn marks all over his body, but not in places that would be fatal. There were also some cuts and some bluish bruises, but the worst was on his back, which was burned badly.

"What happened!" Gazzy asked, barely controlling his anger.

"I don't know, when we found him, he was just like this." I explained, still wondering what had happened to him. Now I know, never to let Iggy wander alone agai-

Wait.

How did Iggy get away from us without ANY of us knowing?

I guess we really do need to watch him more. But back to now.

"So, it was just outta nowhere that a part of the forest exploded and Iggy got badly injured?" Gazzy asked, obviously upset to the lack of answers he was getting as to why his best friend was injured.

"My guess...that it was the Erasers. Who else could it have been?" Fang guessed, probably just to keep Gazzy from going on a mad rampage.

If Gazzy could go on a rampage, anyway.

"C'mon, let's take him home so we can get him fixed up." I said, as we all helped to carry Iggy to our home in the mountains, so we could patch him up. You know, to keep from dying and all that due to the blood he was losing.

* * *

AN: Okay, so I FINALLY got this done! *Bows* Regretful Life is coming! Don't worry! I hope the characters aren't OOC or too OOC.

Review and Flames will be embraced with outstretched arms!

R&R, people!


	3. Silence

Now on with the show! Sorry I'm late, people.

So... what have you guys been doing? Must've been getting impatient, right? Oh well.

Let's check in on Iggy and the flock...

Max 

Carrying Iggy back was a bit tough, because despite the fact he was a light mutant bird freak, he was pretty heavy. In our standards, of course.

Anyway.

It took a while to fix him up, stop the bleeding. It was worrying, since he was losing so much blood.

Assessing the damage, I saw:

1) A wound on his side, not that big, but it was gushing blood.

2) He had a gash right on his forehead, arching across the top of his left eye. That was patched up first.

3) His right leg was twisted in an awkward position, so it was probably broken.

I held Gazzy while he cried. It took a lot to make any one of us cry. Seeing Iggy like this was one of those things, of course. Good thing we have fast regenerative abilities. Kinda makes you think that the Whitecoats are thoughtful, right? Yeah.

All in all, it would probably be a while before we would let him out again. Recovering is priority number 1, people! After all, don't want to get hurt again, right?

The Gasman

I hated those Erasers.

They always caused trouble for us, every time they appeared. It sucks! I held Max when I started crying and questions whirled around in my head.

_Why did they have to always bother us?_

_What are they planning?_

_Is Iggy going to be all right? _

"He's going to be fine," Max said, seemingly reading my last thought. "Iggy's a survivor. He'll live."

But I think she felt as bad as I did.

"I-I know," I sniffled, as more tears silently slid down my cheeks. "It's just that...seeing him like this, it's just..."

I couldn't bear the thought of losing my best friend, ever.

"He's going to be all right." She told me, stroking me hair. I wonder, was she also trying to convince herself, too? The worry was visible on her face, no matter how hard she tried to hide it.

I was going to reply, but if I wasn't so attentive on Iggy, I would have missed it. He stirred.

Iggy

I slowly got up and noticed something was different.

Everything was strangely quiet. Empty.

I felt around my surroundings and touched the object I was on. Our couch.

Which meant the flock was here. My hand met a smaller one in the midst of my search. It felt like Gazzy's.

"Gazzy?" I called out.

Or so I thought.

I felt like I had called out, but I heard nothing.

I tried again. "Gazzy? Max? Fang?" I still felt it, but...

Still nothing.

One more time. I repeated again.

Silence. The hand around mine tightened as I realized I couldn't hear them, but they were with me, right here.

Which meant...no, it couldn't be. It can't...

Fang

"He's deaf." I said solemnly, barely believing what I uttered myself. Nudge held her hand up as she silently started crying. Angel and Gazzy burst into tears. Max held them, trying to be the tough one here. I understood: they loved him; _loved us. _But they just couldn't handle the fact that he'd gone deaf.

I hated to be the bringer of bad news, but I thought he was playing a sick joke on us, pretending that he couldn't hear us. Even when the Gasman gripped his hand tight. But he turned left and right. Gazzy had told him we were all right here. Nudge had gone near him and started talking non-stop, like how we were here and he should stop pretending since he's scaring us and all.

But he acted like nothing had happened at all. This never happens. Ever. He would usually ask her to shut up in that nice, _sincere_ way only Iggy knows how. But he didn't yell; didn't get upset.

And that was when I realized it, and it stung. It was painful, seeing him like this. He couldn't hear and couldn't see. He had become enveloped in a small, dark world, isolated from ours where only he could be.

But we needed him. He's one of us, our family. What could we do to release him from those bonds of sadness, of grief? Usually, me or Max would come up with something to say to the kids whenever they were sad to make them feel better, but nothing I thought to say could make them feel better at all.

Nothing at all.

Haha...anyways, got a new chapter up! Yay! But it'll be a while before I update again? Maybe, if insperation strikes me early.

Later!  
Florina of Ilia


	4. In An Unfamiliar World

This...this feels so EMO ._. This chapter. Not supposed to be emo, but, DAMN. : Should probably get to this while I can...But I promise, it won't be emo for much longer!

And after all, only Max knows Angel can read minds at this time. =.=

Fang

The next few days were just a blur to me, no, maybe to _all _of us; I mean, this changed our lives completely.

And the worst part?

It happened to Iggy. Iggy, our lovable pyro of our group, had become deaf.

He'd taken this especially hard, refusing to come out of his room. We've slid plates under his door, to make sure he's eating, because he's refused to open the door for any of us. Not even Gazzy, his best friend. Angel's been reading his thoughts for the last few days, but they weren't pretty.

They were downright _scary. _To all of us.

They were all about how he felt useless to us, and should die. _DIE. _He'd been going on and on -according to Angel- about that, and nothing else.

We weren't going to let him commit suicide for whatever reason. He was family to us, and you don't let family kill themselves. We had to survive, and stick together. We evaded Erasers and the Whitecoats, and Iggy just wants to die, here and now?

I can't accept that.

Just a few hours ago -at Max's warning at what he was planning, I wonder how she knew?-, we -Me, Max and Gazzy- broke through to his room, -though the lock is now utterly destroyed- and saw him trying to dice out of the window -I thought we locked rescued him from performing a suicide fall, but his face is what scared me.

He looked _happy _to die. _Happy_.

I guess I could guess why, but didn't he think of what would happen next? I mean, he might be ready to let himself get killed, but we aren't. If he died...

Everything would go to hell.

Iggy

Why couldn't they just leave me alone?

Why did they still care so much for me?

I mean, I'm deaf! I was blind before, but now...I can't get around. I can't fight. I can't even do what little I could do for the flock. So why did they still care so much?

All I really am is a waste of space. I can't _do _anything anymore. Anything that would help us survive.

Breathing in, I could smell the food they left for me -why would they do this? It's a waste, just like me.- again, for the third day in a row. I picked it up and put it on the dresser where I usually put the rest, but as usual, I don't touch a speck of it. They came in earlier, when they found out what I was doing, somehow. They know what I'm doing, and they're trying to prevent it, forcing me to eat the food from before.

I mean, if there was some way I could at least get my hearing back, that'd be great, but that's impossible. Technology isn't that advanced.

There's no way to get it back.

I valued my hearing to make up for what I couldn't see, but now that it's gone, I'm even more lost than before.

The rest of the flock is so lucky, they get to see and hear, things I would never be able to do anymore for the rest of my life. And they tell me to live, when all those things I could see and hear before I lost them are now forever gone?

It's like being thrust into a world where all you find is an eternal night, void of all sound. They would never understand how it feels to be blind, and even deaf, especially at the same time. It was a horrible nightmare, one you couldn't ever wake up from, and the worst part was that it was all real, and you were going to have to stick with this, and would never hear another thing ever again; being completely blind to a world with so much to offer was terrible.

Even with our past, I always believed that I could still get along with just my ears, and the wonderful sounds that would enter them each and every day; the songs of the birds that would occasionally pass by, the results of the bombs me and Gazzy would work so hard to create, and the flocks voices. They were the thing that kept me going this entire time; like a light at the end of the tunnel, I would've reached it eventually.

But now, I'm just lost, with no light to point me in the right direction. I was in my own world, with no way to reach theirs; the flocks.

It was like the bridge that connected me to them crumbled right before my eyes, in the one explosion I would hate for as long as I lived.

* * *

And so concludes chapter 4, the (hopefully) only emo chapter of this story. Let's see what happens next, shall we? =D

Later,

Florina of Ilia


End file.
